Local beaches on the itinerary for California Coastal Cleanup effort

On Coastal Cleanup Day, Saturday, September 17th, Californians will contribute to a global trash collection day that takes place in 50 states and 90 countries each year on the third Saturday in September.

Part of International Coastal Cleanup, the California Coastal Cleanup will work to beautify 700 locations statewide, including Santa Monica Beach, Venice Beach, Dockweiler Beach in Playa del Rey and Mothers Beach in Marina del Rey.

The 21st annual California Coastal Cleanup Day is scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, September 17th.

The environmental group Heal the Bay is the coordinator for most Los Angeles County Coastal Cleanup Day sites.

The three cleanup sites in Venice are at Ocean Front Walk and Rose Avenue; the Venice Pier at the ocean end of Washington Boulevard; and the Venice breakwater at the ocean end of Windward Avenue.

In Playa del Rey, cleanup sites are on Dockweiler Beach at Imperial Highway and Vista Del Mar; and at Toes Beach at 62nd Street and Pacific Avenue.

On-site coordinators from Heal the Bay will provide trash bags, gloves and tally cards, in order to tally up data on what types of junk are most commonly found beachside.

For the third year, the coastal environmental organization Santa Monica Baykeeper conducts a special kayak cleanup in the Marina.

Volunteers from the community will help Marina yacht club members, Baykeeper volunteers and kayak clubs pluck debris out of the water along the jetty that separates Ballona Creeks from the Marina. Kayaks will launch at the public boat ramp off Fiji Way, west of Lincoln Boulevard, Marina del Rey.

There is no charge to participate in Coastal Cleanup Day, but those under 18 years old who wish to participate must bring a liability waiver signed by a parent or guardian. Waiver forms can be found on the California Coastal Commission Web site, http://www.coastal.ca.gov

Coastal Cleanup Day is the largest volunteer event in the country focused on the Marine environment, according to Santa Monica Baykeeper. Each year, about 40,000 volunteers turn out at about 700 cleanup sites to clear debris from the state’s shorelines. Last year, 50,437 volunteers participated in removing 912,147 pounds of trash from California’s coastal and inland waterways.

The single most prevalent item found among debris collected is cigarette butts, accounting for about 40 percent of the total number of debris items found, according to the California Coastal Commission.

“EDGY” CLEANUP ART — For the last four year’s, artist Christopher Wormell’s lino-prints of marine animals were the official images of California Cleanup Day. But the poster art this year makes a more provocative environmental statement, and that was intentional, says Eben Schwartz, a spokesman for the California Coastal Commission.

This year’s artwork, designed pro bono by Goodby, Silverstein and Partners, a San Francisco-based commercial art firm, includes images of an egret with a cigarette butt growing out of its nose, a crab with a styrofoam fast-food container for a shell, and a jellyfish wrapped in a plastic supermarket bag.

“It’s a change for us this year. It’s a little more direct and edgy. We hope that it will send a stronger message about potential dangers of marine debris and makes people realize what a real problem it is,” says Schwartz.